Ever feel like pulling your hair out, throwing the Christmas tree in the fireplace and running out the door screaming? Well here is some advice on how to lower Holiday Stress. After all the Holidays are a time for joy and happiness and spending time with our loved ones. Not wanting to beat the crap out of them. First I will talk about-
Money- Gift Buying.
Ok money is the biggest stress causer in normal times, much less Holidays. Buy early in the year. Too late to do this for this year but to some degree you can. Buy a gift or two each week. Even if you don’t know who it’s for, if you find something on sale buy it and decide who to give it to later. You don’t HAVE to spend a fortune on gifts. Shop online on Ebay, go to flea markets, anywhere you can find a deal. As far as buying for kids, most kids want a lot of gifts to open. Buy one or two more expensive gifts and a bunch of cheaper stuff from Dollar Tree or wherever. Also for next year, a lot of Banks have special Christmas Savings Accounts. Put $5 a week in one, then get it out at the end of the year and shop away. And consider others who buy for you. Don’t be a snotty snobby person who makes it known you have to have expensive gifts. Also don’t rush out to the store the day after Christmas and return gifts. I know a person who does this every year. It burns me up to think that I spend time looking for a good gift for somebody and they take it back. That is why I often buy gift cards for people now.
Hectic days Holiday Stress
Take a deep breath and slow down. There is so much to be done around the silly season, decide what really has to be done and do it. This is mostly geared towards the ladies. Explain to the husband that if you are expected to do a lot of cooking, he needs to pitch in more than usual doing other stuff. Dealing with the kids, cleaning the house or whatever. Share the chores. As far as the Christmas meal, try to cook some the night before if you are cooking stuff that can keep. The less you have to do on Christmas Day, the more you will enjoy the time spent with family.
I hope you enjoyed my article on Avoiding Holiday Stress and I hope you and yours have a great Holiday Season.
